Friend
by saucywench20
Summary: Starfire's thoughts on Raven. RavenStarfire friendship. Oneshot. Read and review.


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Disclaimer:

I don't own the teen titans. L Makes me feel sad just knowing that I don't but I don't.

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Stuff:

Hola amigos. This little one-shot wonder worked its way into my subconscious as I was writing ch 6 of "Another Day." It wouldn't leave so I decided to give it life. Ch 6 of "Another Day" will be up in a day or two. I just have to make a few adjustments to it.

This fic is about Raven/Starfire friendship.

This fic is written from Starfire's perspective and was inspired (note: I said "inspired") when I saw "How Long is Forever," "Birthmark" and "Prophecy." I don't plan on following the plot lines and nuances of the show or comic book.

I also plan on getting a little creative, just a little…you kind of have to squint to see it.

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Friend-

By: saucywench20

Friend Raven, I have never known you were in such pain.

I am saddened to admit that when I first met you, I found you "creepy," as Beast Boy has said.

Although we were both alien to Earth we were fundamentally different.

I was overjoyed to be here.

You were unimpressed with this world.

I enjoyed meeting all the people that I encountered.

You disappeared from sight when people approached you.

I spent as much time as I could with friends Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin.

You became reclusive and barely spoke with us.

I did not understand you then.

I was puzzled by your inability to express yourself.

Somehow I knew in my heart of hearts that you were truly a kind and peaceful soul, yet I wondered "Where is the real you?"

I know that you loved us all as family and friends, and that you gladly would journey to the deepest depths of _kiljorfgiorl _(the tamaranian term for hell) for anyone of us, even before we truly began to bond as friends.

I think you loved us, at first, because we did not truly fear you.

There was much about you that we did not understand at first and although I thought you, at first, were "creepy," we did not fear you in any way, shape or form, except for the time when friend Beast Boy read your recording of thoughts and we had to protect him from your wrath.

We have had many joyous times together.

Even though you did not smile.

You did not laugh.

You did not express joy.

Even through times of strain you did not show what you feel.

Even if you would have liked to do nothing more than cry and let all of that emotion out, you did not do so.

Why?

That plagued my mind for a long time.

We were in a way strangers until the incident in which our bodies were switched.

I saw that for every smile, for every laugh, for every expression of emotion, my (your) powers lashed out violently.

The very emotions that give me strength and power, were the ones that made you spiral out of control.

I began to understand then, in part, why you did not express what was in your heart.

In protecting us from harm, you had to cease to live.

You worked nonstop to control yourself, through meditation, fasting, and prayer.

My heart broke to see this.

I wanted you to live.

I wanted to see you smile, laugh, become angry.

I wanted to see you express what was in your heart.

I wanted for you to be as happy as I was.

As time passed, we became true friends.

I saw you trust yourself more and gain more control over your abilities.

I saw that you became less afraid of showing your true self to the others.

Before you were reclusive and behaved as though we shunned you, then gradually, you began to change.

You helped friend Cyborg fix his "baby" and became his younger sibling through friendship.

You argued with friend Robin when his music was too loud and helped him deal with problems when others could not help.

You have become friends with Beast Boy, no longer attempt to destroy him and, if I am correct, are developing feeling of love for him

You and I began to spend much time together.

You gave me advice concerning Robin.

You allowed me to take you to the mall of shopping, even though it is a source of great annoyance to you.

You assisted me in taking care of Silke, even though he had consumed twelve of your cloaks and has vomited on you numerous times.

You now come to me when you feel troubled or sad.

Although you may not admit it, you have come to rely on me and I you.

We are now closely bonded as friends to the point that I hold more affection for you than my own sister.

It is because of this closeness that I was able to tell that there was something else bothering you….something related to your past.

You only spoke to me only once of your life on Azarath and I remember feeling my heart shatter many times for you.

You told me of how you were hated and shunned by the people of your world since the day of your birth for being your father's child, for having his power.

You told me of how the Priestess Azar was the only person in your life who ever showed you any affection, how even your own mother could not bear to be in your presence and hated you.

You told me of how eventually your father came for you and killed nearly everyone on your world to get to you and how the survivors blamed you and exiled you from your home.

I remember asking you, after you recounted your life before the Titans, who was your father? What could he have done to inspire the people of your world and your own mother, the one who gave you life, to hate you?

It was the only time I saw you truly express what your heart felt.

I recall how your eyes became moist and how you began to cry.

I recall how you allowed me to hug you and how you didn't try to escape.

I recall your words as clearly as if you had spoken them to me right now.

You told me, "Starfire…I want to tell you but I……I can't. I can't risk your life or your soul. I can't chance him hurting you because you are close to me. There are things about me, about my father, that I cannot tell you until the time is right, if that time ever comes, so please don't ask me again. Not until it is time to combat my demons, okay?"

I remember your eyes being so sad and I remember feeling angry at how you were treated and how I wanted you to have a happy life.

I vowed to help you fight your demons when the time came.

You grew sullen and depressed when friend Terra arrived and became close to Beast Boy.

You became worse when she betrayed us and broke Beast Boys heart.

I noticed that you had begun to sleep and eat less.

You began to shut down and return to your reclusive state.

I grew concerned for your emotional well being.

When I went into the future, I saw that you had lost your mind because your friends were not there for you.

Without us, you became lost.

Without a purpose.

Without the support that you needed in times of darkness.

I vowed the moment that I realized what had happened to you that I would never allow that to come to place.

You did not deserve that fate.

When things were beginning to look well for you once again, Slade began to target you.

He came back with incredible powers and renewed vigor.

His focus on you was frightening.

I did not know what he wanted with you and I became worried for your well being.

This was the first time that any villain made you fearful.

You became frightened to leave your room, to be near us.

We…I wanted to know what was wrong.

Robin discovered, after an encounter with Slade, that he was most likely working for an entity by the name of Scath.

I noticed that you looked stricken when the name Scath was mentioned.

Why did Scath frighten you so badly?

I soon found out.

It was when went to that abandoned library that turned out to be an ancient temple.

That was by far the scariest place that I have even been in.

That fear was even greater when you fled, yet my resolve grew.

I was given the strength to go seek out and destroy the source of your fear.

There were, I think, spirits of some sort who chanted a horrible prophecy to us.

As we explored the temple, we were all shocked at some of the chambers.

They had statues and décor that reminded us all of you.

There was much there that made little sense to any of us.

It is also there that we encountered Slade.

The battle did not go well for us.

His new powers and techniques were too much and I was beginning to believe that we all may not leave that temple alive.

Then you came and fought him with a fury I have never seen before.

While you did battle with him, we were all shocked to see all of those crimson markings on your body.

They appeared similar to the mark on Slade's forehead.

They looked as though they had been branded on to your flesh.

As the dust settled, when Slade fled, we all returned home, tired and confused.

It was there my friend, that we finally learned your terrible secret.

That you were the daughter of Trigon the terrible, devourer of worlds, destroyer of life.

We learned that whether you liked it or not, he intended to use you to destroy this world.

We learned that if you were to lose control of your self, emotionally, he could take control of your mind, body, and soul.

We learned of the prophecy in its entirety.

Friend Raven…why didn't you tell me earlier?

Was it that you feared that I would no longer call you friend?

Was it that you feared we would treat you as the people in your home world treated you?

Let me say this my friend, I do not care who you are.

I do not care where you come from.

I do not care who your father is.

I do not care what he believes he can accomplish.

I will say this friend Raven, you are far too precious to me as a friend, to allow that monster to harm you.

I will not allow this prophecy to come to pass and if he comes for you Raven, let me tell you now that I will make him suffer for tormenting you and I will break your chains.

You are not a monster.

You are not an abomination, as your people have led you to believe.

You are not creepy.

You are not alone anymore.

You do not need to hide yourself in shame for something that you cannot control.

You do not need to fear anymore.

You do not need to protect us from you past anymore.

We are your friends, Raven and we will protect you.

You are my friend, Raven and I will protect you.


End file.
